Hurtings of the Heart
by Shixake
Summary: Disclaimers are the usual. This is a Akuroku fanfic, included is my OC. It's short, but I hope you'll like it nonetheless   Comments and ratings are much appreciated
1. HotH chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a cold spring day, and there was a boy, walking alone through the bustling town.

He wore a sleeveless, checkered top and blue capri's. On his feet were checkered slip-ons, and his blond hair stood up in the air, defying gravity.

The shower that came down made rain pound on his head, weighing his hair down. The rain was the only thing that could keep his hair from sticking out into different directions. The water also soaked his clothes, so no part was kept dry. But he liked the rain, so he didn't mind walking around, looking like that.

He was wandering the little streets of his home town, a small plastic bag clutched tight in his hand, when he noticed people staring and pointing and hear them whispering. But he couldn't care less. He heard people asking themselves and their companions if he was the one they heard about, and if he was out of his mind, walking in the rain without an umbrella or proper clothing.

Those reactions meant nothing to him. Until a guy he always hated, said: "Hey Roxas! What's the matter? You sad your boyfriend left? What are you gonna do now? Cry?"

Roxas clenched his teeth, balding his fists and making every effort to respond, and not attack the other guy. "No Seifer," he said, "I'm not going to cry. But you will, if you don't shut up."

Seifer just stood there and laughed, his two 'bodyguards' joining, moments later. As they laughed, Roxas made an attempt to continue his way home. Only the road was blocked by Seifer and his gang.

"Oh no, you don't, little boy. You just have to stay here and play with us." Seifer said, an evil grin appearing on his face. Roxas gave him a glare and pushed him aside. He wanted to walk away as fast as possible, but Seifer got hold of his bag, and with a load ripping noise, tore it apart.

There was a moment of silence, while a blue blur with a hunch of brown, flew through the air. All the ice creams Roxas had bought were scattered on the floor, and Fuu and Rai were jumping on top of them, squeeling while blue liquid seeped between the stones.

Roxas bowed his head, shaking with anger. He stood there, immobile, for a solid minute. Then he looked up, a dark expression of his face. "Those ice creams," he slowly, and with a low voice, said," Where very special. Those were no ordinary ice creams."

The second after he finished his sentence, Roxas somersaulted over Seifer, and grabbed his waist in a tackle. And because Roxas was completely frantic, he got stronger than he usually was, so whilst in a tackle, both Roxas and Seifer fell to the ground. Roxas didn't care people were watching and children were crying when he flipped Seifer over and started punching him in the face.

Fuu and Rai each grabbed one of Roxas' arms, and tried to get him of their friend. But Roxas gave a howl of rage and shook them off, He then continued his handy-work on Seifer's face.

Slowly, the flesh on his knuckles began to tear open. But that was nothing to how Seifer's face looked. Blood was everywhere. His eyes were swollen, and the position of his nose was slightly off.

But Roxas kept op beating, until three huge men grabbed him, and pulled him of his victim. Who was lying there, lifeless, knocked out by the force of the blows.

Roxas was a small guy, too small for his age. But the 17-year-old had done quite some damage. As he was held in place by a gigantic guy with auburn coloured, wavy hair, he screamed: "LET GO OF ME!" But the giant shook his head, and said in a soft voice, trying to soothe Roxas: "No Roxas. Fighting doesn't solve anything. Least of all, bring HIM back."

Roxas relaxed his muscles, turned his head, and said: "But Lexaeus, they ruined my ice cream. They were for him, for when he would return." Then his lip began to quiver, and tears came running hot down his face. Lexaeus grabbed his shoulders, turned him around, and pulled him in an embrace. Roxas pushed his head against the waist of The Silent Hero and let his tears run free.

Then people began walking up to them. "Roxas, cover your ears. There is enough pain in your heart as it is. You don't have to hear this." Lexaeus said with a caring, yet stern look on his face. Roxas did as he was told and then hid his face again in the comfort of his friend's size.

He closed his eyes, trying to block out the yelling of the townsfolk. There was little success. As the tears were streaming down his face, Roxas heard Lexaeus trying to shush the situation, but he didn't succeed. Roxas heard a woman scream at the top of her lungs: "He doesn't belong here! He never has! He has to leave." Roxas thought the voice belonged to Seifer's mother.

Roxas didn't know what happened next, but suddenly, everyone was quiet. Roxas figured Lexaeus must have used his death glare. As Roxas tried to turn, Lexaeus kneeled down and whispered in his ear: "Roxas, go with Xigbar and Xaldin. I have some unfinished business that needs to be attended." Xigbar and Xaldin walked from the background were they have been standing, up to Roxas. Roxas looked at the two, and said: "But guys. I don't want to go. This is about me. I have to know what they'll be saying."

But Xaldin didn't listen to Roxas. He grabbed him around the waist, and swung him over his shoulder. Then he began to walk away. "Xaldin, let go!" Roxas yelled, as he tried to break free from the firm grip Xaldin held on him, "I can walk on my own!" Xaldin just shook his head. Then he replied: "No can do, little guy. Lexaeus was very clear not to let you go. So I'm not planning to aid your request." Roxas then knew the big guy wouldn't budge. But to make clear he wasn't happy about it, he crossed his arms and started to put. "Aah little dude, don't be like that. Come on. It'll be okay." Xigbar said, ruffling Roxas' wet hair.

They all treated him like a little kid. They all did, except for. . . And with that thought, he started crying again. He saw through the blurry-ness the tears brought, Xigbar looking confused. He felt Xaldin shook his head, and after that there was only the slight sound of Roxas sobbing while he was drowning in his sadness. 


	2. HotH chapter 2

Chapter two

They kept walking until they were at the white mansion. And as they entered, Xigbar and Xaldin noticed that Roxas was sleeping. And then they saw the red liquid rolling down his arm and falling on the floor. Xaldin took Roxas to his room after he gave Xigbar a nod. And as he was put on the bed, Roxas woke up with a moan. "Where are we?" He said, while letting out a huge yawn. Xaldin smiled, while getting the first-aid kit. "We're home. Now give me your hands, so I can treat them. Or do you want them to get infected?"

Roxas first looked at Xaldin, then at his hands, and then remembered what happened. He felt the anger rising in him again. Xaldin saw the rage in Roxas' face, and tried to calm him down. But without any victory. Roxas got up and tried with all his might to get down-town again. The only problem was, was that Xaldin was holding him down. Roxas started screaming and yelling at the top of his lungs.

After fighting and screaming for 5 minutes, Xigbar and Luxord came walking in, alarmed by the sounds coming from the blond's room. "What's going on in here?" Xigbar asked with a puzzled look on his face. Luxord gave the two fighting a look, and then said calmly: "I take a gamble the little one isn't too pleased with how things are going." The two stood there for a while, watching Xaldin and Roxas struggle, when Demyx came walking in.

Demyx gave a nod to Xigbar and Luxord, walked over to the tangled mess and laid a hand on the shoulder of The Whirlwind Lancer. Xaldin looked up, saw the determination and comfort in Demyx' eyes, got up and guided the other two out of the room. Then Demyx sat down besides his friend, who was still panting from the struggle, and spoke to him: "Look Roxas. I know it hurts. Before I joined the Organization the first time, when I was a Somebody, I was an active guy with loads of friends. "

Demyx looked sad. Roxas had never seen him sad, so it was weird to seen Demyx hug his own legs. He is such a bubbly person that laughs all the time. Roxas changed his position so he could listen closely to what Demyx had to say. Then Demyx continued: "I played my sitar, did sports, and never backed out to do something dangerous. My friends would listen to me play and we had fun and laughed a lot. Those were happy days. And then, that unfaithful night."

Demyx let out a sigh. Roxas saw a tear falling down the water-users cheek. Demyx took a deep breath, before continuing. "I was walking home through the dark streets of my hometown. I can't remember its name, though. Then I heard a load scream. I ran over to where I heard it coming from, and saw the girl I secretly loved, lying on the floor. There were shadows hanging over her when I saw a small light. I crept closer, and then saw a small heart floating, before it disappeared in the darkness. The last thing I remember were whose yellow, gleaming eyes around me, and her face blank staring back at me. . . "

Then, his voice broke into soft sobs. Roxas was shocked with what he had heard. Roxas knew Demyx didn't like to fight, but he always thought it was because his friend was too lazy. He had no idea Demyx lost the love of his life, before his own heart got stolen. He threw an arm around Demyx, who immediately pulled him into a hug.

They sat there for a while, before Demyx unexpectedly spoke: "Everyone always thinks I'm happy. But then I'm just pretending. I cry myself to sleep every night. So Roxas, trust me, I understand your pain. It's hard not being with the one you love. But Axel is out there somewhere, looking for you. So please, for me, for him, don't get yourself in more trouble than you're already in. It wouldn't help anyone if you would be exiled from Twilight Town.

Roxas gave his friend a nod and said: "You're right! You are absolutely right! But still, Seifer destroyed my ice cream. What should I do when Axel comes back now?"

Demyx just gave him a smile, while he wiped away his tears. He got up, offered a hand, and said: "Well then, let's go buy some more." The smile Roxas got was warm and reassuring. Because of that smile, he felt like he could take on the world. He took his friends hand, and together, they walked out into the sunset.


	3. HotH chapter 3

Chapter 3:

As they were walking, Demyx and Roxas felt drops landing on their heads. They both didn't mind the rain. As Demyx was a water user and Roxas was too sad to bother.

After the incident with Seifer, Roxas couldn't walk the streets without having several death glares thrown in his direction. Demyx looked with a worried glance at Roxas, and said to his friend: "Are you alright? You don't seem to well..." Roxas nodded without uttering a word, teeth clenched together. Once they got their ice cream, Roxas made his way to hurry home.

They walked fast, taking a different route than usual, walking through small alleys. When they wandered through the last alley before arriving home, they both bumped into someone simultaneously. When they looked up, they saw a small girl with blond hair bowed down and apologizing a thousand times. "I'm so sorry!" She said in a soft voice, "Is there something I can do to apologize?"

Roxas gave a glance to Demyx, who nodded. Then, Roxas replied, with a calming voice and a smile on his face: "You can at least show us your face and tell us your name."

The girl looked up, and both Demyx and Roxas were stunned by what they saw. They hadn't noticed it before, but the girl had long pointy ears. But that wasn't the reason they were instantly dead silent. It was because of her eyes. They were red, and they had very much sadness and anger in them. Then the girl softly spoke: "Are you alright? I'm sorry, but I can't remember my name. Where, in Ifrit's name, am I?" She looked really puzzled, so Demyx was the first to answer with a reassuring voice.

"You're in Twilight Town. I'm Demyx, and this little blonde dude is Roxas. How did you get here? You look strangely familiar."

The girl shook her head, letting the two guys know she couldn't remember. Then Roxas looked up with a confident look in his eyes. Then he said: "Hey Demyx. How about bringing her to the mansion? Maybe Xigbar, Xaldin and Lexaeus know what to do."

Demyx took her hand and started to lead her towards the mansion. Roxas walked beside her and gave her a reassuring look. When they arrived at the huge house, and walked in, Roxas yelled: "Xigbar! Xaldin! Lexaeus! Could you come down for a minute?" Then Demyx, Roxas and the girl stood there in the hall for a few minutes, before three men came down the stairs. One of them immediately looked puzzled; the other two just had a soft look on their faces. The girl looked in awe at the man standing before her. He was enormous. But he looked nice, and said with a calming and deep voice: "So, and who is this little girl you brought with you?" The girl backed away from the giant, and hid herself behind Demyx, clutching his coat.

"Lexaeus, you're scaring her!" Demyx said, with a smile on his face. Meanwhile, Xigbar popped up behind her, and started playing with the tip of her right-ear. "This poppet looks cute. Where did you guys find her? Can I play with her?" As the girl spun around, she saw Xigbar looking at her with an evil grin on her face. She didn't like it. Her lip then began to shake and her eyes filled with water. Then, out of the blue, she began crying. Her sobbing went through the bones of the five men standing in the hall with her. Then, when Demyx tried to calm her down, Roxas gave Xigbar a punch in the stomach. "What the HELL are you doing? She just got here! She's scared and confused and you know that damn well! How can you take such advantage of her?" Xaldin walked up to Roxas and grabbed him in a hold which he couldn't get out off.

As Demyx calmed the girl down, Lexaeus looked at her with much interest. "Guys… She looks familiar. Doesn't she?" He spoke, and the rest of the group fell silent. The men gathered around the blond girl, and began examining her. Then they all nodded. "It's her hair, and the shape of her face. She looks so much like her." Demyx added. That made the girl looked puzzled. Xaldin answered in a voice similar to that of the man called Lexaeus: "I remember her talking about her past. She couldn't remember much, but she told me she had a daughter. After that, she couldn't remember anything."

Roxas and the girl looked puzzled. "Who are you talking about?" Roxas replied. The other four men looked at each other, then back at Roxas, and said at the same time: "Larxene." Then, Roxas turned to face the girl, grasping her shoulders lightly, and saying with a serious look on his face: "Please, please tell us. What is your mother's name?" The girl looked more confused than she already did. She was quiet for a while, and then said with the soft voice that was growing on them: "I can't remember my mother. She died when I was born. But my step-dad told me about her. Her name was Arlene."

All the men then were quiet, mouths hanging open. Roxas was the first one to recover, and asked her another question, giving slight pressure to her shoulder where his hands were holding her. "Do you remember your name? I really need to know!" She looked scared at Roxas, seeming like she was about to cry again, and then nodded. "Yes, I do. My name is Hakeis. But I can't remember my last name. Why? Is there something wrong?" She said, as she saw Roxas' jaw drop again, and the others looking as though they saw water burning. Xigbar practically screamed then: "AS IF! No frikkin' way that you're Hakeis! That can't be! She was dead!" Hakeis looked shocked at that remark, and Lexaeus gave Xigbar a very mean look, as he walked up to Hakeis and gave her a hug.

She started crying, without a sound. Just tears streaming from her eyes. "Why did he say that? What has happened to me? I can't remember a thing. Who am I? Who was I then? Who was my mother?" She continued sobbing as Lexaeus started to explain the story on how she became a Nobody. The only remaining Nobody in the former Organization XIII. "You shall be named Shixake. And your title shall be: The Empathic Lion-Whip." Lexaeus stated. And Demyx added with a happy voice. "Roxas and I shall be your mentors. I could read in your eyes and face you use Water and Light as your elements, and the two of us are specialised in that. So we'll be training you."

Shixake was getting used to her new name, wiped her eyes and looked up at the five men. The she got a confident look on her face and nodded. Xaldin added with a satisfied look: "Right. Now you are officially a member. And you are Number XV."

And with a look of great curiosity, Shixake was told of the ways of the Organization. And after that they, she finally, but unknowingly, had a place she could call home.


End file.
